Browns 2-Time All-Pro Shockingly Deemed Cut Candidate

Getty Kareem Hunt and Jack Conklin after scoring a touchdown.

The Cleveland Browns are facing a tough situation with cap space moving forward. According to Over the Cap, they’re estimated to be $60 million over next year’s salary cap in 2025. There are ways to fix that, but it’ll require them cutting some of the players on the roster.

Christian D’Andrea of For The Win looked at cut and trade candidates for all 32 teams, listing Jack Conklin as a cut candidate for the Browns.

“The Browns need cap relief — more so in 2025 than 2024, where they’re an estimated $60 million over next year’s salary cap (per Over the Cap),” D’Andrea wrote on August 8. “That makes Conklin, on the hook for cap hits of nearly $19.5 million in 2025 and 2026, a potential casualty.

“The high-profile free agent signing has played just 22 games over the last three seasons and will turn 30 years old before the season begins. Cleveland could opt for savings while plugging Dawand Jones into his spot at tackle.”

Browns Trading Conklin ‘Would Be a Total Mistake’

If Conklin hadn’t dealt with the injuries he has suffered over the past three seasons, he would be an ideal fit for the Cleveland Browns offensive line. However, he appeared in one game in 2023 and seven in 2021.

He’s currently on the PUP list, and it’s uncertain when he’ll be removed.

Despite the injuries he’s dealt with, Leigh Oleszczak of Dawg Pound Daily wrote that the Browns should avoid trading him.

“As we’ve seen in the NFL, having solid offensive lines is key. It’s hard for quarterbacks to play their best ball if the line in front of them isn’t up to the task of protecting them,” Oleszczak wrote on August 3. “Yes, Conklin has had injury issues and yes, Dawand Jones played well filling in for the veteran while he missed time but what’s also important is for teams to have depth on their o-line.”

Conklin played in 14 games for the Browns in 2022, and if he can play in the same amount this season, as well as the playoffs if Cleveland makes it, he’d still be a very valuable piece to the roster. Spending four years with the Brons, he was named an All-Pro in his first one, which was just one of two seasons in which he played in more than seven games.

Browns Would Have to Find His Replacement

Due to what the Cleveland Browns traded for Deshaun Watson and how much they’re paying him and other players on the roster, they’re in a win-now situation.

Cutting Conklin would help them save money in 2025 and 2026, but if they don’t have a clear replacement for him, doing so might not help their chances of winning. The biggest factor with Conklin is his health, and while he hasn’t managed to stay on the field in two of the past three years, he played in at least 15 games in four of his first five seasons in the NFL.

If the Browns have a replacement for him who can provide similar value, saving money would be a wise decision. However, it’s tough to replace a two-time All-Pro, even with his injury history.